39

News

Millions headed for Jutland indoor drone project

admin
December 23rd, 2014


This article is more than 10 years old.

Danes to get head start on promising tech

The drone technology has been under scintillating development in recent years and drone use has been creeping into all walks of life sectors, from monitoring maritime polluters, to inciting unrest at football games. And now, it's on the brink of making an impact indoors as well.

The Danish innovation fund Innovationsfonden has earmarked 11 million kroner to a project called UAWORLD, which is geared to the development of autonomously-operated indoor drones.

The project, which is due to last three years, is being developed by the Holstebro-based company GamesOnTrack in co-operation with Aalborg-based RESEIWE, Støvring-based Sky-Watch and the Department of Electronic Systems at Aalborg University (ESAAU).

“Our goal is to pave the way for a massive deployment of drones in a number of different areas and applications where they do not exist today,” Henrik Schiøler, an associate professor from ESAAU, said in a press release.

“It may be as part of a flexible logistics company production or quality control in hard to reach places.”

READ MORE: Danish drone could help bust maritime pollution sinners

A head start
Danish tech companies and researchers have predicted that indoor drones will play a massive role in the future, whether it is in aerial photography in large buildings, assisting at elderly homes and other places where there are smaller transportation needs.

Jonas Johansen, the head of Sky-Watch, has huge expectations to indoor drones, which he contends will prove invaluable in the future.

“Currently, there are 176 European drone manufacturers and 100 US, but virtually all focus on outdoor applications,” Johansen said.

“The integrated solution for indoor use in our project can give us a clear lead. To begin with, indoor drones will be a niche market, but in the long term, we believe that it will become a part of everyday life in all relevant industries and services.”

The indoor drone project is among 17 projects that Innovationsfonden was decided to fund for a total of 167 million kroner.


Share

Most popular

Subscribe to our newsletter

Sign up to receive The Daily Post

















Latest Podcast

A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”